


The Sweetest Gift.

by CristinaBlackthornKingson



Series: Red White and Royal Blue, The Next Generation. [5]
Category: Red White & Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston
Genre: Anxiety, Babies, Big Sisters, Books, Brother Feels, Brother-Sister Relationships, Brotherhood, Brotherly Affection, Brotherly Love, Brothers, Childbirth, Children, Children of Characters, Comfort No Hurt, F/F, F/M, Family, Family Bonding, Family Dynamics, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Father-Son Relationship, Fear, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Lawyers, Little Sisters, Loss of Parent(s), M/M, Multi, Newborn Children, Other, Parent Death, Parent-Child Relationship, Parenthood, Pregnancy, References to The Office (US), Sisters, Step-parents, Surrogacy, Worry, Writing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:08:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28392168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CristinaBlackthornKingson/pseuds/CristinaBlackthornKingson
Summary: In 2026, two years after welcoming their first daughter, Henry and Alex prepare to welcome their second child, and face all the fears, worries and anxieties that come with being a parent of 2.
Relationships: Alex Claremont-Diaz & June Claremont-Diaz, Alex Claremont-Diaz & Nora Holleran, Alex Claremont-Diaz & Oscar Diaz, Alex Claremont-Diaz/Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, Arthur Fox & Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, Beatrice Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor & Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, Catherine Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor & Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, David & Henry Fox-Mountchristen Windsor, Ellen Claremont/Leo, Ellen Claremont/Oscar Diaz, Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor & Percy "Pez" Okonjo, Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor & Philip Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor & Shaan Srivastava, Oscar Diaz & Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, Zahra Bankston/Shaan Srivastava
Series: Red White and Royal Blue, The Next Generation. [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1996159
Kudos: 19





	The Sweetest Gift.

“So, is it true that for the last week you’ve been awake at 5:00 A.M. keeping others awake and being a bit too rough with your family dog?” It is a cold winter’s day in late January of 2026, snow is falling outside Henry and Alex’s Brownstone apartment in New York, and both men are busy at work. Henry is working on his second novel that’s going to be released toward the end of the year, and Alex is practicing his technique for court. 

Alex’s question is responded to by a high-pitched laugh. He turns back around to face the person he was questioning, his 2 year old daughter Charlotte, who is sitting in her high-chair by the kitchen table. She laughs again when Alex turns around, and bangs her hands down on the tray of her highchair. 

“Papa!” Charlotte exclaims. 

Alex breaks out into a grin. 

“Oh alright, I believe your innocence, on account of how stinking cute you are!” he makes his way over to her and scoops her up into his arms, blowing a raspberry on her cheek making her screech with laughter. 

“Alex have you been practicing for court, with the baby, again?” he hears a familiar English accent ask in an amused tone. He turns to see Henry smiling, standing in the doorway to the kitchen. Alex grins at him. 

“Look I gotta practice with _someone_ , and when she’s in her highchair Charlotte can run off on me like David did, though she does laugh at me like Nora and June did.” 

Henry chuckles and walks over to join his husband and daughter, slipping an arm around Alex’s waist and giving him a loving kiss, before pressing a kiss to Charlotte’s cheek. 

“I just got off the phone with Sierra, she’s coming to visit for a while in about an hour, after her blood test.” 

Almost a year ago now, Henry, Alex and Sierra started the IVF process all over again, so Henry and Alex could have another baby, like they so badly want. They had no embryos left over from the IVF cycle that got them Charlotte, so they had to start from scratch. It’s been a tough year for the 3 of them, the IVF didn’t work as well as they had hoped, they only got 4 viable embryos, and so far they’ve transferred 3 but non of them took. 

12 days ago they transferred their final embryo, with very little hope that it will take. Sierra goes in for a blood test to confirm whether or not she’s pregnant, today. The results will be in in a few days, which will be some of the most nerve racking of their lives. 

“Great, it’ll be nice to spend some time with her, and for Charlotte to get to spend time with her. Hey maybe I could make us all lunch, make an afternoon out of it?” Alex suggests. Having lunch with his husband, one of his best friends, and his daughter sounds like an ideal way to pass the rest of the afternoon for Alex.

“That sounds wonderful love.” Henry leans in to kiss Alex again, but recoils suddenly, huffing through his nose and waving his hand in front of him. “Jesus Alex, what did you feed Lottie?” 

“Uh if I recall correctly _you_ made breakfast, she didn’t want a snack. Here, you change her and I’ll get started on lunch.” Alex declares, handing his daughter over to Henry.

“Oh god, I love you Charlotte but Christ you are rotten sometimes, come on you little stinkbug lets get you changed.” 

Changing shitty nappies is definitely not a part of parenthood that Henry enjoys, but honestly he wouldn’t trade it for the world, he wouldn’t trade anything about his life right now.

Half an hour later Sierra arrives. They barely talk about the transfer or the possibility of her being pregnant. They talk about anything _but_ that, frankly. They enjoy their lunch, then take Charlotte for a walk, play with David in the park, and watch some re-runs of Sierra and Alex’s favoriet show, _The Office._ (Henry does like it sometimes, he just finds Michael insufferable and is thoroughly creeped out by Creed, so he doesn’t enjoy as much as Alex or Sierra.) 

2 days later, on a rare day off for Alex, while he’s playing with Charlotte and David in the living room, while Henry does the laundry, there’s a knock at the front door. 

“Oooh I think that’s your daddy’s birthday presents, you gotta help me hide them Lots.” Alex says to Charlotte, pushing himself up from the floor and walking toward the door. He recently ordered the complete works of Jane Austen as well as all the movies, for Henry’s 27th birthday, he’s a little early but it never hurts to be prepared. 

However when Alex opens the door he doesn’t see the mailman, rather Sierra, wrapped up warm against the snow, a plastic bag in her hand and her legs crossed in front of her. 

“Oh hey Si, you okay?” Alex asks, wondering what the weird stance is about. 

“Uh-hu, long story short, I got tired of waiting for the blood test results so I bought a pregnancy test and drank like 2 liters of water on my way over here, can I use your bathroom?” there’s a hint of desperation in Sierra’s tone, and Alex has to bite back a laugh. 

“Sure, have you taken the pregnancy test yet?” He asks, stepping back to allow Sierra in. 

“Nope not yet, gonna do that now. Hi Lottie sweetheart, I’ll be back in a minute and we can play.” Sierra kisses Charlotte’s cheek on her way past, as she hurries to the bathroom. 

“Was that Sierra I heard?” Henry asks, coming into the living room, pushing his hair out of his eyes. 

“Yeah.” 

“Not that she’s not welcome but why’s she here? I thought she had work today?” 

“Must have finished early, she said she got tired of waiting for the blood test results so bought a pregnancy test and drank a tone of water on her way here and she seemed about ready to wet herself when I let her in.” Alex replies in an amused tone, setting Charlotte down. 

“Is she taking the test now?” Henry asks. Alex nods. 

A few minutes later, Sierra steps out of the bathroom, taking her coat off. 

“Okay, two minutes and we’ll know.” she says, hanging her coat up and scooping Charlotte up when she reaches for her. “What do you think Lots, you gonna have a baby sister or brother soon, is there a baby in here?” Sierra places a hand over her stomach. Charlotte just laughs and reaches out to grab at Sierra’s necklace, a sliver pendant on a long silver chain, with the words _‘ **Hope, love, surrogacy’**_ engraved around the edge of the circle, with ‘ ** _Charlotte 24. 7. 24_.’ **engraved in the middle of the circle. It was a gift from Henry and Alex, another way to thank Sierra for everything she did for them. It’s one of her most treasured possessions. 

“Maybe if it doesn’t work this time we should take a break before trying again, it’s tough emotionally and mentally on all 3 of us, and I know it’s really taxing on you and your body, Sierra, a break might do us all good.” Henry suggests. He wants a second baby as soon as possible, but he doesn’t want their struggle to conceive affect he and Alex’s marriage, or their friendship with Sierra. 

“I think that might be a good idea.” Alex agrees. 

“Whatever you guys think.” Sierra shrugs, always a calm and laid-back person. 

Two minutes later, Sierra goes into the bathroom and grabs up the pregnancy test without looking, so she, Alex and Henry can find out together, even though it’s probably negative. 

“Ready?” Sierra asks, looking between Henry and Alex. They both nod. She takes her thumb away from the screen in the middle of the test. Almost immediately her heart jumps into her mouth when she she reads the result.

**_Yes+_ **

“Holy shit.” Sierra breathes in disbelief. 

“No fucking way.” Alex quietly says. 

“I... it could be a false positive, right?” Henry asks, not wanting to get his hopes up. 

“Yeah but not very likely, it’s 14 days post transfer, it’s an ideal time to test, and I’ve never gotten a positive before, well not since I was pregnant with Charlotte.” Sierra breathlessly says.

“Lets... lets not get our hopes up until the clinic calls back with the blood test results.” Alex suggests. 

“Agreed.” Henry nods. 

Thankfully, the clinic calls them just an hour later and confirms Sierra’s pregnancy. All 3 of them are absolutely over the moon, and can hardly wait to tell everyone.

This time Henry and Alex decide to tell their friends and family first, even though it’s still pretty early in the pregnancy, if anything bad happens it will be nice to have their love and support.

So two weeks after finding out Sierra’s pregnant, once it’s confirmed that her HCG levels are rising and the pregnancy is progressing normally so far, Henry and Alex announce the news to their family and friends by sending a picture to the group chat.

It’s a very simple picture, with Charlotte and David sitting by a chalkboard that spells out **_‘And baby makes 3, Baby #2 coming October 2026!’_** alongside a single ultrasound photo.

Almost immediately they are bombarded with replies.

**_1:04_ **

**_Nora_ **

**_I KNEW IT!!! Pez you owe me 10 bucks!_ **

****

**_1:05_ **

**_June_ **

_**I call Godmother this time!!** _

_**1:07** _

_**Pez** _

_**And I call Godfather!!** _

__

_**1:10** _

**_Philip_ **

**_You don’t even believe in God, I should be the Godfather!_ **

_**1:15** _

_**Catherine** _

_**Oh boys!!! What lovely news!! Congratulations, I am so happy for you, sweet little Lottie is going to be an absolutely wonderful big sister!** _

The responses continue to flood in all day, everyone is of course very happy for them and excited to welcome a new family member.

They announce the news to the public when Sierra is 15 weeks pregnant, using the same photo they used to tell their family and friends, uploading it to their personal Instagram pages. No one is surprised when they become #1 on trending within an hour, and stay at #1 on trending (right above #2, **_#firstprincebaby#2_** ) for a week straight. 

When it comes time for Sierra to have her 20 week ultrasound, Henry and Alex decide to take Charlotte with them, so she can see her little sister (they found out they’re expecting a girl, through a blood test at 10 weeks.) and hopefully be able to bond with her before she’s born. 

“So you don’t think Lottie is going to be jealous of the new baby at all?” Sierra asks Henry and Alex, as they walk up to the clinic on the day of the scan. 

“No I don’t think so, she doesn’t seem to mind sharing our attention, and she really likes babies.” Henry says, shifting Charlotte to a more comfortable position on his hip.

“Can’t be any worse than how Bea reacted to Henry when he was born, form what Cat tells me.” Alex says in an amused tone. 

“She asked to hold me, and mum and dad were thrilled, they thought she was eager to be a big sister. Then she turned to the midwife who was checking in on mum, held me out to her and said ‘Here you go! Don’t want him!’” Henry grumbles, though unable to hold back a smile. He adores Bea, she’s a wonderful big sister, and honestly the story _is_ rather funny. 

About half an hour later, once the OB has checked baby’s measurements and everything, she turns the screen around so Henry, Alex, Sierra and Charlotte can see the baby.

“Oh.” Henry softly says, tears welling up in his eyes. He always gets emotional at scans, there’s just nothing quiet like seeing your baby, even before they’re born. 

“Look Lottie.” Alex softly says, pointing to the screen. “You see? That’s your sister.” 

Charlotte looks at the screen, then back at Alex, then back at the screen and then back at Alex. She scrunches her face up in confusion and looks at Alex as if he’s just told her the sky is red. 

She wriggles to be set down, and when Alex won’t set her down, she starts reaching and grabbing for the medical equipment, almost knocking over a stack of pamphlets on a nearby counter. 

“Maybe from now on we’ll just take her home pictures and videos.” Henry suggests, as Alex tries to keep a grip on a wriggly Charlotte. 

“Yeah, I think that’d be a good idea.”

The rest of Sierra’s pregnancy is totally smooth and easy, no complications at all and hardly any symptoms of pregnancy, in fact Sierra is really enjoying her pregnancy and feels absolutely wonderful, the only odd things going on are her weird cravings (all she wants to eat is chilies and spicy food, she has to have chilies in every meal and snacks on them all the time as well.) and heartburn. 

Despite everything going so smoothly, Alex is still extremely anxious throughout the whole pregnancy, he’s terrified of going from one kid to two. He adores Charlotte but there’s no doubt being a working dad is difficult, even with just one baby, how will they cope with 2? He knows he should talk to Henry about these fears, but Henry is so clearly excited about the baby, he doesn’t want to spoil it for him.

One day when Sierra is 7 months pregnant, Alex meets up with his dad, for lunch. It’s nice being able to spend some one-on-one time with him, usually when they see eachother June is with them, or Henry and Charlotte, and while it’s always great to spend time as a family, it’s also nice to just have some father-son time.

“So only two months to go huh? You got everything ready and set up for the baby?” Oscar asks, knowing how excited Henry and Alex must be about the baby. 

Alex gives him a weak smile. 

“Yeah, pretty much.” He says. Right away Oscar knows something is up, it’s not like Alex to give a 3 word answer, Oscar was expecting his son to start rambling on and on about Henry, Sierra, Charlotte and the baby, telling him about all the things they have for the baby and how they’ve been getting Charlotte ready to be a big sister.

“What’s up _mijo,_ what’s wrong?” Oscar softly asks. Alex gives him a surprised look and another weak smile. 

“Nothing, I’m fine dad, everything’s fine.” Alex tries to force some cheer into his tone, though doesn’t succeed.

“Alex come on, cut the crap. I’m your dad, I know when something is up, your my kid I know you better than anyone else, talk to me _mijo_.” Alex sighs and drops the pretense that everything is okay. 

“I just...” He begins. “I’m scared about having a second kid. I’m afraid I won’t be able to love this baby as much as I love Charlotte, the love I feel for her, it seems like it should be impossible. It’s a totally different love to any I’ve ever felt before, I feel like she takes up my whole heart, her and Henry, and I... I don’t know how or if I’m going to be able to love another person that much. 

I’m scared I won’t be able to bond with this baby, Charlotte and I have an incredible bond, have done since the moment she was born, and I’m so scared that it won’t be the same with the new baby, or that I won’t have time for Charlotte, or not as much, and she’ll feel left out and abandoned and think I don’t love her anymore.” By now tears have started to roll down Alex’s face, and he is doing his best to fight off a panic attack. 

Oscar reaches over and places his hand over Alex’s. 

“When your mom was pregnant with you, I was fucking terrified, more scared than I had ever been in all my life. I had the exact same fears and worries as you, I knew how to be a dad to one kid, but two? I had no clue, I was terrified out of my damn mind that I would fuck up everything and screw up with you and June.

But Alex, the minute you were born and I got to hold you, all those worries and fears just melted away. From the moment the doctor held you up after your mom’s C-section, I knew I loved you just as much as I loved June, I knew everything would be okay.

Then I got to hold you, and it was just as amazing and special as when I got to hold June. I knew we would bond just as easily as June and I did, I knew I would do anything for you, give my life for you. 

And my worries about how I would cope as a dad of 2? They were for nothing, you fit perfectly into our lives Alex, like you were always meant to be there. June adored you right away, and though you were pretty fussy, we wouldn’t have changed a single thing about you, not for anything.

Do you know why I’m so passionate about trying to fix global warming, reform the education system, and just make society a better place in general, why I made that my main goal as a Senator?” Alex wipes at his tears and shrugs. 

“B-because you’re a good person who cares about other people.” Oscar smiles and squeezes his son’s hand. 

“Well yeah that’s part of it. But the main reason is you and June. I cared about these issues a lot before you two were born, but once I became a dad, they became so much more important to me. I wanted and want to make this world a better and happier place for you and your sister, I never wanted you to face the racism I did, the homophobia Raf faced or the sexism your mom faced.” 

“I-I feel like about Charlotte, I don’t want her to go through any of the hurt Henry and I did, if she’s not straight or cis. I don’t want her to feel angry and embarrassed in public when people stare and whisper because of the color of her skin. I want to do everything I can to make the world a better place for her, and her sister.” Alex’s tone is tight and wobbly as her remembers all the crap he’s had to face throughout his life. Oscar reaches out and wipes away Alex’s tears. 

“Everything’s gonna be okay Alex, I promise. You’re gonna be an amazing dad to your two daughters, it’s completely normal to worry this much, but I promise you there isn’t any need to worry, everything will be just fine. And if you ever need any help, you have so many friends and family to help out, you know I’m always on the other end of the phone, I don’t care if I’m in fucking Australia, you call me and tell me you need me and I will drop everything to come be with you and help you.” 

Alex sniffs and nods, knowing his dad is right, like he always is. 

“Yeah, thanks dad, I love you.” Alex says. Oscar smiles and pats Alex’s cheek. 

“Love you too kid, more than you could ever know.” 

“Do you uh, do you wanna come back to the apartment and see Henry and Lottie? Henry wants to give you an ARC of his book, and Charlotte’s been asking to see you.” Alex hopefully asks. Oscar grins brightly. 

“Alex I couldn’t think of a better way to spend my day.” 

2 months later on a cold and rainy October evening, Henry has his first book signing for his second novel. Practically everyone is there to support him, Alex and Charlotte hardly ever leave his side, nor do Sierra or Bea. His mum, Philip, Martha and Philip and Martha’s 3 kids flew in a week ago to attend the event, Ellen, Leo and Oscar are here, as well as Rafael, Nora, Pez, June, Shaan and Zahra, with Cash and Amy on duty as security. Technically Shaan is on duty too, seeing as he’s Henry’s manager, but working with Shaan never feels like work, since he’s such a good and close friend to Henry.

Sierra has snuck away from the crowd for a bit, and is peacefully browsing the quiet aisle of the store where the cook books are, when she begins to feel a tightening, sharp pain low down in her stomach. It’s not the first she’s had tonight, but it’s worse than the other few pains she’s had.

Sierra reaches out to grab onto a bookshelf, closes her eyes and does her best to breathe through the pain. She probably should say something to someone, with her due date only being a week away it’s completely within the realm of possibilities that these pains are real contractions, and not just Braxton Hicks, but she doesn’t want to draw attention away from Henry, he worked so hard on his book, he deserves to be able to celebrate tonight, besides the signing is over in 2 hours, she should be able to make it till then.

As Sierra stands there with her eyes closed, trying to breathe through the pain, she hears the sound of high-heeled footsteps approaching, and opens her eyes to see Zahra standing in front of her, looking concerned. 

“Hey, are you okay?” Zahra asks, recognizing the look of pain on Sierra’s face.

“I think I’m in labor.” Sierra admits, relaxing as the pain passes. 

“I thought so, how many contractions have you had? How far apart are they?” Zahra asks in a calm tone. Someone going into labor isn’t such a big deal to her anymore, now she’s’ had a kid of her own. 

“About 2 or 3 in the last hour, they’re about 20 minutes apart, give or take a minute or so, I haven’t been timing them exactly.” Sierra replies in a breathy tone, the contraction having seeped all the energy from her. 

“Lets get you somewhere more comfortable, somewhere you can sit, and maybe call your midwife too.” Zahra decides, walking off toward the back of the store, where there’s a break room they have permission to use.

“Oh no I can wait till the end of the night, I don’t want to take any attention away from Henry.” Sierra protests. 

“If we wait until the end of the night you probably won’t have time to get to the hospital, Henry won’t care about the focus not being on him, you know him he hates being the center of attention, and if you really are in labor then he’s about to become a dad again, so he really won’t mind. Don’t be so stubborn.” Zahra firmly tells her, holding the door to the break room open for Sierra. 

“Okay okay, you make a fair point.” Sierra admits, lowering herself onto a chair by a small table.

“I always do, people should listen to me more often. Are you okay to stay here on your own, while I go sort everything out with Henry and Alex?” Zahra asks. Sierra nods, and Zahra quickly makes her way back out into the shop and over to Shaan, who is speaking to the shop manager. 

“Shaan, I need to talk to you in private for a minute.” Zahra says, coming up and placing a hand on her husband’s arm. 

“Of course, excuse me a moment.” Shaan says to the shop manager, before following Zahra to a quiet corner of the store. “Is everything alright, is Ellie alright?” Shaan asks in a concerned tone. His mum and dad are watching Ellie tonight, since at only 1 she’s too little for such a big event like this, he knows she’s in safe and loving hands but he can’t help but worry that something will happen. 

“Yeah Ellie’s fine, your mom just texted me an update, she’s fine. It’s Sierra, she’s in labor, we need to end the signing early, or at least get Henry and Alex out early.” Zahra quickly explains. 

“Alright, I’ll talk to Henry, you find Alex and then we’ll meet in the break room and go out the back?” Shaan suggests. Zahra nods. 

“Sounds like a plan.”

While Zahra goes off to find Alex, Shaan approaches Henry who is talking to a fan. 

“Sorry to interrupt, Henry can I talk to you in private for a minute please?” Shaan calmly asks, shooting the fan an apologetic look. 

“Sure, nice meeting you Emily, thank you for the support of both my books.” Henry cheerfully tells the fan, before turning and following Shaan to a quiet space. 

“Okay I don’t want you to panic or freak out Henry, but Sierra’s in labor, she’s fine though, we have plenty of time but it is ideal to leave and go to the hospital now, so that it’s not all a big rush at the end of the night.” Shaan calmly explains. Henry’s eyes widen, but he doesn’t panic or freak out. 

“Can you take me to her, please?” He asks. Shaan nods. 

“Of course, follow me.” Shaan leads Henry to the break room, and when they arrive they find Zahra and Alex are already there, and Sierra seems perfectly fine, sitting by the table, hands folded over her bump, laughing with Alex. 

“Are you okay Si, is the pain awful?” Henry asks in a concerned tone. Sierra beams at him and shakes her head. 

“No, the pains are every 20 minutes or so, they’re not fun but they’re not awful, and in between them I’m totally fine. Though we should probably go to the hospital now, my waters just broke.” It amazes Henry how she can always remain so calm.

“I’ll drive, you have Charlotte’s car seat with you don’t you?” Shaan asks. 

“Yeah we do.” 

“I’ll go ahead and ask Cash or Amy to follow you to the hospital, I’ll stay here and help finish up early.” Zahra decides. 

Thankfully Sierra’s labor isn’t too long, and isn’t all that painful either, it’s not pleasant by any means but she’s finding it much easier to handle, especially since she has opted for a water birth this time, being in the birthing pool really helps ease the pain.

When it comes time to push, Sierra positions herself on her knees in the pool, her arms folded over the edge and her face buried in her arms. Henry and Alex are on either side of her, not touching her since she told them not to, but offering words of love and encouragement the whole time. 

It’s only been an hour since Sierra started pushing, and already she can feel how close she is. 

“Okay Sierra you are doing absolutely amazing, you’re so close now, it should just be one more push. When you have your next contraction, I want you to give a nice big push, alright?” the midwife calmly and quietly says, looking up to make sure Sierra heard her. 

“Okay.” Sierra says in a breathy tone, her chest rising and falling rapidly. “Henry, give me your hand, I need to grip onto something.” 

“Of course, grip as tightly as you want, break my hand for all I care, whatever you need to do to get through this last push.” Henry says, slipping his hand into Sierra’s. Sierra laughs lightly, but is abruptly cut off when the next contraction hits. 

She grips tightly to Henry’s hand and pushes down once more, as hard as she can. Just seconds later she feels the baby slip out and immediately start to wail.

“Oh my god.” Henry sobs upon catching a glimpse of his daughter. “Oh my god she’s perfect, Sierra I love you, thank you so much.” Henry kisses the back of Sierra’s hand, before letting go she can turn around and accept the baby from the midwife. 

“Congratulations, you did wonderfully Sierra.” The midwife smiles, handing her the baby. 

“Oh hello sweetheart, hi little cutie.” Sierra coos, cradling the baby to her chest. “Oh look how perfect you are, you look just like your sister.” The baby clearly has dark brown skin like Sierra, her dark brown hair, and her bone structure, while she has Henry’s eye shape, nose and mouth shape, almost exactly like Charlotte. 

“Ana, our sweet little Anastasia Catalina Jane Rose, it was a long journey to you little miss, but it was so worth it now you’re finally here.” Alex quietly says, stroking the baby’s cheek. Just like Oscar said, now Alex has seen Ana, all his fears and worries about not being able to bond with her or love her as much as Charlotte, have completely melted away. 

“Would one of you like to cut the cord?” The midwife asks. 

“You do it Alex, I did it last time, you should do it this time.” Henry encourages. 

“Are you sure? Do you want to do it, Si?” Alex asks, looking at Sierra. She did all the hard work, it would be only fair if she got to cut the cord. Sierra shakes her head. 

“No I’m good, maybe with the next one, you go ahead.” 

A few minutes later, Sierra looks up from Ana’s face and asks 

“Do one of you guys want to hold her now?” Henry is about to say that Alex should hold her first, but Alex cuts in.

“Henry, you hold her first.” 

“I’m the bio dad, you should hold her first.” Henry argues. Alex shakes his head. 

“I held Charlotte first, you hold Ana first, who the bio dad is doesn’t matter, we love our girls equally, me holding them first isn’t going to change how much I love them.” Alex points out, which Henry can’t really argue with. 

“Alright.” He agrees, nervously accepting a now bundled up Ana, from Sierra.

Henry thought he was prepared for how much he would love Ana, since he knows how much he loves Charlotte, but when he holds Ana for the first time, he is hit with a wave of emotions. He is so thrilled his beautiful baby girl is here healthy and safe, he’s scared about being a dad to two, and he’s sad and angry that his dad can’t be here to meet his granddaughter, he would have been such an amazing grandfather, taking the kids to the theater and to movie sets, spoiling them with presents, telling them stories and reading to them, telling them stories about Henry, Philip and Bea as kids, and so much more. It’s not fair that his dad isn’t here to do all the things Leo and Oscar get to do, as grandfathers. The girls should have all 5 of their grandparents, they should be able to know and love their grandpa first hand, not just through stories, old movies and old photos. 

“Hello my little love.” Henry says in a tight and teary tone, tears welling up in his eyes as he looks at his daughter. “You are so perfect, I love you so much it hurts. I promise you Ana, I’m going to be the best dad you could possibly ask for, and give you the most amazing and happy life, promise.” Henry then presses a kiss to Ana’s forehead, as Alex slips his arm around Henry’s waist, holding him and their daughter close.

The next day Ellen and Leo (who had been watching Charlotte while Henry and Alex were here at the hospital.) bring Charlotte in to meet her little sister. She seemed very eager to meet Ana, and has been contentedly sat beside Sierra on the hospital bed, with Ana lying in her lap, since she’s too little to fully hold her.

“You love her, huh?” Sierra softly asks Charlotte, brushing her dark hair back. Charlotte nods. 

“Uh-hu, she my baby.” Charlotte says, as Ana blinks her eyes open and looks up at her big sister. 

“Oh my god that’s too cute!” Alex exclaims, leaning in to Henry as he watches his daughters interact, his heart bursting with love.

“She’s just like June was when you were born Alex, she just adored you, well when you weren’t crying.” Ellen says in amused tone, feeling as though it wasn’t that long ago at all that June and Alex were the same size as Charlotte and Ana. 

“Hear that Lots? You’re like your _Tía_ June, you poor little thing.” Alex teases. 

“You’re such a horrible brother.” Henry laughs. Alex just shrugs. 

Henry and Alex decide not to announce Ana’s birth for a while, they spend the first week settling her in at home, bonding with her and making sure they still make time for Charlotte, all of them going on family walks with David, curling up in bed together at night and reading stories, etc. 

When Ana is 2 weeks old, they finally make the announcement on Kensington Palace’s official twitter page.

They post a simple photo of Charlotte sitting in the middle of Henry and Alex’ bed, with Ana laying in her lap and David lying beside her. When editing the picture they put emoji stickers over the girls’ faces, so they can keep their privacy. They then upload the image with the following caption

_**‘Our family just got a little more perfect, Her Royal Highness Princess Anastasia Catalina Jane Rose was born on the 20th of October 2026, at 10:03 P.M., weighing a healthy 8 pounds 4 oz. We are the happiest dads in the world right now- HRH Prince Henry, Duke of Sussex, Alex.’** _

“Alright, that’s all done, what do you want to do tonight then Lots, hear a story, read a book or watch a movie?” Henry asks, setting his phone down once he’s finished editing and posting the photo, and sitting on the bed next to his daughters. 

“Story!” Charlotte exclaims, as Alex scoops Ana up and peppers her little face in kisses.

“Alright, what story do you want to hear?” Henry asks, as Charlotte crawls over him so she’s lying in between he and Alex. 

“Ummm, dunno!” Charlotte says, blinking her big brown eyes up at him. 

“How about the day your papa and I got married?” Henry suggests, knowing this is one of Charlotte’s favoriet stories. 

“Yeah!” 

So over the next half hour, Henry and Alex tell Charlotte the story of their wedding day, from the beautiful ceremony, to the amazing, heartwarming speeches from their parents, and more. By the time the story is over, Charlotte is conked out, curled into Henry’s side, her face mushed into his chest. 

“God we’re so lucky, to have these beautiful and perfect babies as ours.” Henry quietly says to Alex, carefully stroking Charlotte’s long, dark hair. Alex nods his agreement, rubbing circles on Ana’s back. 

“Yeah we sure are, I love you.” Henry leans over and softly kisses Alex. 

“I love you too.” 


End file.
